On October 11th, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), local militais, and former fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) prepared to launch a new offensive on the remaining ISIS fighters in the al-Safa area with support from Russia, north of al-Suwayda, local media reported. On October 12th and October 13th, pro-government sources reported that a large number of ISIS fighters had been killed. However, no notable gains were made by the SAA and its allies.

The Russia-Turkish deconfliction agreement is facing difficulties with the withdrawal of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham from the demilitarized zone, according to local sources. Militants also violated the agreement on October 13th when they shelled the town of al-Bahsa and a base of the SAA in the northwestern Hama.

According to the Russian side, the threat of chemical weapons provocations in Idlib remains high. Russia’s permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons claimed that Moscow had obtained intelligence that militants are plotting chemical weapons provocations. The information, according to Alexander Shulgin, “comes constantly.”